Former Australian spin bowling legend Shane Warne picked Virat Kohli as the best ODI batsman ever in cricket over Viv Richards. He also picked the 30-year-old Indian captain as a better batsman than Steve Smith across all formats and said that Kohli might go on to break Sachin Tendulkar's 100 centuries record.
The 49-year-old former cricketer told IANS that according to him Kohli is the best batsman in all formats and is the greatest ODI player ever overtaking Viv Richards.
"I think Virat is the best batsman in the world. I think if I had to pick one batsman across all formats, it would have to be Virat. Viv Richards was the greatest batsman I saw in ODI cricket and in all cricket probably. But Virat is now the greatest ODI player that we have seen. He overtakes Viv for me," Warne told IANS.
"Yes, I think Sachin's records are in danger and it is like anyone else who has a record," he added.
The former Australian legend who has 708 wickets to his name mentioned that as far as Test cricket is concerned Steve Smith is his first choice for him as a batsman but Virat Kohli is not far behind.
The 49-year-old will be happy with Kohli if he loses on Smith while picking the one best batsman in Test cricket.
"As far as Test cricket goes, I would probably say it is a really tough one between Virat and Smith. But I think if I had to pick one batsman in Test cricket, it would be Smith, but if I lost that and had Virat, I would still be happy because he is a legend," Warne further added.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has 68 centuries to his name from both ODIs and Tests and the with the form he is enjoying for the last few years he can actually surpass Tendulkar's humungous record of 100 centuries in both formats.
Steve Smith also has been in prolific form after coming back from suspension. The 30-year-old cricketer was suspended from international cricket for a year due to his involvement in the sandpaper-gate fiasco.
In the recently concluded Test and ODI series in the Caribbean Kohli led India from the front delivering continuously with the bat. The Men in Blue won both the series without losing a single match.
On the other hand, the Australian cricketer has scored 479 runs from the three Tests he has played in the ongoing Ashes with an average of 159.66. He has been the star performer of the Australian outfit in this year's edition of the event.
